Ageless
by Marie Nomad
Summary: Buffy wanders for years isolating herself from her friends and family after a disturbing revelation. She finds herself meeting a very old friend who had changed far more than she likes. Set in the future.


All characters belong to Joss Whedon. Not me. This is inspired by Immortality by bashipforever. This fic takes place in the future.

Ageless

By Marie Nomad

Sixty years ago, she had stopped counting her birthdays. She never liked her birthday since bad stuff always happened on that fateful day of the year. However, that changed when she started to realize how little she changed compared to the others. Then, she suffered fatal wounds and recovered in mere days if not hours. She went to a sage where she got a disturbing revelation. She was immortal. After the revelation, she ran off and became semi-retired. The first few years, she stayed in touch with her friends and worked with the Watchers until more people notice how little she aged. They looked at her strangely, like in pity, or something else. Then, she left and traveled the world fighting evil and finding a 'cure' for her immortality. Unfortunately, her immortality was tied to the fact that she was brought back from the dead and her link to the Slayers. The only way for her to die was if every Slayer in the world died at the same time.

She could have stayed with the Immortal but she didn't want to love someone just because he's immortal. She was tempted to find Angel but she didn't want to. The last time she heard, he had disappeared after the fight with Wolfram and Hart. She didn't want to feel the pain of being with him again for eternity.

So, she wandered from place to place; earning money killing evil demons and vampires and some odd normal jobs. She kept on changing her hair color, her outfits, and a few times her name. She learned how to make a new identity and reset it every ten years just so she didn't have to lie too much. Occasionally, she would meet another slayer and get some news about her old friends but she tried to stay away. The only one who she wrote back and forth was Dawn and even that line of communication just ceased.

Now, she was tired of traveling. How Angel had done it for a hundred years was beyond her. She decided to stay in the city of LA for a while. She sat in the living room with a man looking over her fake paperwork. He was twenty-something with dark hair and glasses.

"Your paperwork looks good." He said as he adjusted his glasses. "I guess you heard of my grandfather."

"I heard about him." Buffy nodded. "Liam O'Riley is a billionaire who helped all those prisoners rehabilitate and constantly help out the needy. His company is said to be the most humanitarian in the world." She knew all about the man before she applied for the job. The house she was in was a mansion with a garden and statues in the front. It was nothing like the 'mega buildings' that had filled LA. That part made her feel more at home.

"Yeah, he cares about everyone, except himself. He exercises all the time and refuses to use the latest treatments for men his age." Doyle said as he took a deep breath. "He insists that if he tries to cheat death, he would only hurt himself. He does take good care of himself, eating right, exercising, and other natural treatments but he refused everything else. I need someone who could not only take care of him but protect him in case someone tries to hurt him. He surrounds himself with dangerous men all the time. We have some security bots but he doesn't use them. He just relied on this guy and girl. He's an old fashioned type. Can you help us, Ms. Winters?"

"Sure. I can understand these older people." Buffy said as she shook his hand. "When can I meet him?"

"He should be coming back from his meditation." Doyle said as he looked at his watch.

On cue, an older man limped in and sat down in an easy chair. "Ah…" He sighed in relief and then looked up at Buffy. "Whoa. Who…"

"Hi, I'm Buffy… Buffy Winters. I'm your new caretaker." Buffy said as she held out his hand.

"An honor." He took her hand and held it firmly. Liam looked up and then at Doyle. "I don't need a caretaker. I had been able to handle myself ever since your grandmother died and I was just fine."

"Grandpa, you're not young anymore. You need someone to help you and Buffy is that person. She has a lot of experience."

Liam gazed at Buffy. "Really." Buffy found herself shifting uncomfortably. Does Liam recognize her from some of her past travels or maybe even back when she was Buffy Summers? Many times, older people found themselves recognizing Buffy calling her 'The First Slayer' but Buffy managed to evade that identity.

"I'm older than I look."

"Uh huh." Liam put his hand onto her face. "How old are you?"

"25." Buffy said as she handed him her ID papers. "Here's my ID."

Liam closed his eyes and felt the paper. "I… I see. Incredible." He nearly giggled. "You can stay here as long as you want." He said firmly as he handed the papers back. "I… I have to go and talk to someone. Wait right there. Don't go anywhere." He ran off as pale as a sheet.

"What's wrong with him?" Buffy asked as she tried to remain calm. She could sense that something was bad. Liam was startled. How did he know her?

"Let me show you around." Doyle offered.

Buffy took his hand and got a good idea of the mansion. It was classical with modern machinery everywhere. She could see the various paintings of landscapes, people, demons, and even a few werewolves. The werewolves were female and dressed up ina strangely lovely and human way. "Did Mr. O'Riley paint all these?" Buffy asked stunned.

"Yes. He's a firm believer in the classic form of painting. Everyone else prefers to use the computer these days." Doyle mused.

Buffy examined the demons. They looked like they came straight out of the demonic handbooks at the Watcher's Council. True, they could just be formed out of imagination but it just felt too real. She could have sworn that they were looking at her.

"I painted those out of memory." Liam said as he came in. Buffy turned around and then saw his dark eyes staring at her. They seem older for some reason. "Buffy… we… we need to talk."

"Sure." Buffy just shrug off the feeling and followed him into a room. It doesn't have windows or mirrors. It was as if it was made for a vampire.

"You… you haven't changed at all." Liam said as he sat down in a chair and stared at her. "I'm sorry."

"Eh? So… you know that I'm older than I look?" Buffy asked as she smiled slightly. "This is really awkward. Because, I'm like over seventy years old and we probably met before and I didn't recognize you… I don't."

Liam just chuckled warily. "I don't blame you. I've changed a lot since we last met the night before you destroyed Sunnydale. Are you still baking?"

Buffy's jaw dropped. She should've recognized him. She should have realized it when she heard the name 'Liam'. Never in a million years would she come to this. "Angel! Is that you!"

Angel nodded. "Yeah, I kinda started aging about sixty years ago."

"Oh my god. I… I…" Buffy felt dizzy. She didn't know what to do. This was the last thing she expected in the world. Angel was old. He was a very old man. She did what any normal woman who was immortal would do.

THUD

Angel caught her and held her in his arms. "Buffy? Buffy!"

Buffy moaned as she opened her eyes to see Angel. "Angel? Did I just faint from shock?"

"Yeah."

"And you're really an old human? How did that happen? You were dead, I mean, undead and were you resurrected or what?"

"The general term is 'shanshued'." Angel helped Buffy up. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry for not telling you earlier but I didn't really believe in this shanshu prophesy myself until I became human."

"No, no problem. I just kinda haven't eaten a good breakfast." Buffy lied. She didn't like the idea of fainting from shock. She had seen and done a lot of things in her eighty years on Earth and this was something that just came out of nowhere. "What's this shansue prophesy?"

"Shanshu and well, I kinda fulfilled this prophesy that promised that if a vampire with a soul plays a pivotal role in the Apocalypse after that, he becomes human. I wasn't sure if it was true but it is now." Angel explained as he smiled at her.

"Which Apocalypse?" Buffy joked and then paused. "This is weird. I mean, mega weird. Sixty years ago, I was afraid that I would be the little old lady and you would be this great looking vampire and now the roles are reversed except that I'm just immortal."

"Are you dying to get rid of it?"

"Haha." Buffy took a deep breath. She didn't want this. She didn't want to see her ex-vampire lover look like an old man while she was still at her prime. "Oh, sorry." She looked down. "It's just…"

"I know." Angel took her hand and held it. "If you want to leave, I can understand."

Buffy's heart pounded. It was just like Angel to just think of her rather them himself. "No! No way! I won't leave you and you can't make me." Buffy insisted as she jerked her hand away. "I'm like over sixty years old now. Despite my appearance, I'm not that naïve little girl you met in Sunnydale. And what's the deal of you not telling me that you were human!" Her voice raised and Angel stepped back.

"I… I thought you didn't want to be found. I was injured and vulnerable after the battle. As soon as I got well enough, I couldn't find you. The others told me about your immortality and…" He stepped forward and put his hand on her cheek. "I know what it's like to feel alone and I felt that you might need time to find yourself. I'm sorry, Buffy."

Buffy's heart softened. In one of her rare 'blond' moments, she had forgotten that she had hide from her mortal friends and family. She had even left her home dimension for years on end just to throw off their tracks and to be around those who haven't changed. "Oh. Right. I feel like an idiot."

"No, you're not. I thought for a second that you had just been some descendant of yours or that you were Dawn's daughter but you… you had that weary look in your eyes; the type of look that only those who had lived over a hundred years could see. It's one those tricks one learns when you live around people who don't really age."

Buffy sighed as she sat back. "How do you feel?"

"Great. Seeing you again makes me feel like I was only 240 years old." Angel chuckled again. He saw Buffy looking at him again. Gently, he put his hand under her chin. "Buffy, stop looking at me like that. I like being old. Sort of. It may have it's downside but I don't mind. It's not like I'm going to die tonight."

"I know." Buffy tried to smile. She still couldn't believe it. Angel was human. He was really an old man with a family and a home and a very positive attitude that was so unAngellike. "This is going to sound weird but can I listen to your heart?"

Angel just pulled her forward and held her in a soft caring manner. She closed her eyes and nearly cried as she heard his pounding heart. She wiped her eyes as she looked up at him. "You okay?" He handed her a tissue.

"I'm fine." She wiped her eyes and then looked at Angel again. "Did you shrink?" She asked as she studied him.

Angel put on one of his annoyed faces. "Not really."

"You did. I know how tall you were before and I haven't grown that much since I became Immortal Buffy." Buffy laughed and Angel laughed as well. The two laughed as they held each other. "I don't remember the last time I laughed like this." Buffy confessed.

"This is the Buffy I remembered." Angel said as he hugged her again. "You were the reason I became old. I mean, you made me want to be alive. No one has done that for me before. I'm glad I met you, Buffy Anne Summers."

"Me too." Buffy catch her breath and gazed at the ground. "What do we do now? We don't have much time left."

"Walk with me." He said as he took her hand. "And we'll just go from there."

She accepted his hand and smiled at him. "Okay."

The End?


End file.
